Our authority is a trust from the people. We must maintain the highest level of departmental and individual integrity.
The role of the Superintendent is to help coordinate and cooperate with the entire criminal justice system to create (in fact) a system where one does not currently exist. To improve the safety of the citizens of the State.
Local government has the primary responsibility for public safety. The department has an obligation to assist local communities with:

An infrastructure system that supports their needs.

Provides Direct Services to communities based upon agreed role definitions.

Acts as a resource to communities to assist in planning for emergency response.

To assist directly, communities strained by temporary needs or emergencies.

We need to create a criminal justice system that encompasses strategic planning to address our crime and public safety issues. A plan that is holistic, that involves all levels of community and is actually an investment plan for Oregon's future.
We will, in partnership with local communities, define the roles of the department and each component of the criminal justice community.
We will move to a new tradition of policing that is typified by: Individual Creativity, Problem Solving, Resourcefulness, and Partnerships.
Police must change the way they view themselves to a view of a "Community based problem solver concerned with the communities peace and safety."
We must be able to respond to our changing environment of demographic and economic diversity.
We must create a diverse work force to deal with current problems and future opportunities for success.
We must develop high quality professionals and paraprofessionals to deal with the problems of tomorrow.
We must Collectively identify common goals with measurable objectives.
The department will compliment, not compete with local law enforcement.
We need to leverage the technology to the greatest extent possible to effect the most productive use of our human resources.
We must work with labor to responsibly find and acceptable balance between the need to provide effective and efficient services and labors demands through the collective bargaining process.
Law enforcement no longer lives in a closed society. We must look beyond our traditional view of who owns the problems of society and how the problems will be solved.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Oregon State Police is to develop, promote, and maintain protection of people, property, and natural resources of the State, and to enhance the safety and livability by serving and protecting its citizens and visitors through leadership, action, and coordination of Oregon's public safety resources.

The Department of State Police was created in 1931 to serve as a rural patrol and to assist local city police and sheriffs' departments. The department is organized into three bureaus: Intergovernmental Services Bureau, Bureau of Investigations, and Central Operations Command. Some of the agency's specialized programs and services include: transportation safety; major crime investigations; forensic services including DNA identification, automated fingerprint identification, and computerized criminal history files; drug investigation; fish and wildlife enforcement; gambling enforcement and regulation; state emergency response coordination; state Fire Marshal Service and Conflagration Act coordination; statewide Law Enforcement Data System; coordination of federal grants for public safety issues; coordination of Criminal Justice Information Standards; medical examiner services; Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), and serves as the point of contact to the National Office of Homeland Security. Today's Date: July 16, 2003